How to Rename a Windows Computer Using PowerShell

To rename a Windows computer with PowerShell, open PowerShell as an administrator and run Rename-Computer -NewName with the new name. Add -Restart, because the new name only takes effect after a restart:

Rename-Computer -NewName 'SALES-NY-014' -Restart

It works the same in PowerShell 7 and Windows PowerShell 5.1. I didn’t rename my own PC for this article. Every example below either uses -WhatIf or only reads settings, and I replaced my real computer name with DESKTOP-4T7K2QX.

Check the current computer name

"Computer name: $env:COMPUTERNAME"
"DNS host name: $([System.Net.Dns]::GetHostName())"

Output:

Computer name: DESKTOP-4T7K2QX
DNS host name: DESKTOP-4T7K2QX

Write down the old name before you change it. You’ll need it to find the computer in your inventory or in Active Directory.

Preview the rename with -WhatIf

-WhatIf shows what Rename-Computer would do, without changing anything:

Rename-Computer -NewName 'SALES-NY-014' -WhatIf

Output:

What if: Performing the operation "Rename-Computer" on target "DESKTOP-4T7K2QX".

When you run it for real, Windows warns that the change takes effect after a restart. Add -Restart to reboot right away, or restart later.

Computer name rules

Rule	Example that fails
15 characters or fewer	ACCOUNTING-LAPTOP-07
Letters, numbers and hyphens only	HR_PC01, SALES.NY
Not all numbers	20260928
Doesn’t start or end with a hyphen	DEV-

The Rename-Computer help mentions 63 characters, which is the DNS limit. Windows itself allows only 15, as Microsoft’s naming conventions article explains. I check names with a small function before renaming:

function Test-ComputerName {
    param([Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$Name)

    if ($Name.Length -gt 15)              { return 'too long (15 characters max)' }
    if ($Name -notmatch '^[A-Za-z0-9-]+$') { return 'only letters, numbers and hyphens' }
    if ($Name -match '^\d+$')             { return "can't be all numbers" }
    if ($Name -match '^-|-$')             { return "can't start or end with a hyphen" }
    'OK'
}

foreach ($name in 'SALES-NY-014', 'ACCOUNTING-LAPTOP-07', 'HR_PC01', '20260928', 'DEV-') {
    '{0,-21} {1}' -f $name, (Test-ComputerName -Name $name)
}

Output:

SALES-NY-014          OK
ACCOUNTING-LAPTOP-07  too long (15 characters max)
HR_PC01               only letters, numbers and hyphens
20260928              can't be all numbers
DEV-                  can't start or end with a hyphen

Rename a domain-joined computer

For a computer in an Active Directory domain, pass an account that’s allowed to rename computers in the domain. You’ll be asked for its password:

Rename-Computer -NewName 'SALES-NY-014' -DomainCredential CONTOSO\it-admin -Restart

This renames the computer account in Active Directory too, so the PC keeps its trust with the domain.

Rename a remote computer

Use -ComputerName for the current name of the remote PC. According to the Rename-Computer documentation, this doesn’t need PowerShell remoting to be set up:

Rename-Computer -ComputerName 'DESKTOP-8H2K1LM' -NewName 'SALES-NY-014' `
    -DomainCredential CONTOSO\it-admin -Force -Restart

-Force skips the confirmation prompt. Only use it when you’ve checked the names, because a wrong rename means another restart.

Rename several computers from a CSV file

Rename-Computer handles one computer per command, so loop over a list. Check each new name first, and only rename the ones that pass:

function Test-ComputerName {
    param([Parameter(Mandatory)] [string]$Name)

    if ($Name.Length -gt 15)              { return 'too long (15 characters max)' }
    if ($Name -notmatch '^[A-Za-z0-9-]+$') { return 'only letters, numbers and hyphens' }
    if ($Name -match '^\d+$')             { return "can't be all numbers" }
    if ($Name -match '^-|-$')             { return "can't start or end with a hyphen" }
    'OK'
}

$plan = @'
OldName,NewName
DESKTOP-8H2K1LM,SALES-NY-014
DESKTOP-3P9QW2Z,SALES-NY-015
LAPTOP-OLD7,ACCOUNTING-LAPTOP-07
'@ | ConvertFrom-Csv

foreach ($pc in $plan) {
    $check = Test-ComputerName -Name $pc.NewName
    if ($check -eq 'OK') { "Ready:   $($pc.OldName) -> $($pc.NewName)" }
    else                 { "Skipped: $($pc.OldName) -> $($pc.NewName) ($check)" }
}

Output:

Ready:   DESKTOP-8H2K1LM -> SALES-NY-014
Ready:   DESKTOP-3P9QW2Z -> SALES-NY-015
Skipped: LAPTOP-OLD7 -> ACCOUNTING-LAPTOP-07 (too long (15 characters max))

When the plan looks right, add the rename inside the if block:

Rename-Computer -ComputerName $pc.OldName -NewName $pc.NewName -DomainCredential $cred -Force -Restart

Get the credential once, before the loop, with $cred = Get-Credential. Looping through a CSV file has more on reading the list from a file.

How do I know if a rename is waiting for a restart?

Windows keeps the current name and the name it will use after the next restart in two registry keys. If they differ, a restart is pending:

$key = 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName'
$active  = (Get-ItemProperty -Path "$key\ActiveComputerName").ComputerName
$pending = (Get-ItemProperty -Path "$key\ComputerName").ComputerName

"Current name:       $active"
"Name after restart: $pending"
"Restart needed:     $($active -ne $pending)"

Output:

Current name:       DESKTOP-4T7K2QX
Name after restart: DESKTOP-4T7K2QX
Restart needed:     False

Right after a rename, the second line shows the new name and the last line says True.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Windows admin tasks you can script the same way:

• Get computer information with PowerShell
• List local users
• List running services